Venue Announcement: Crush Bar PDX

Building this thing from the ground up, it is always exciting when a prospective partner or venue aligns so perfectly with our mission statement and core values. Conversations flow easily and you share this mutual vision in your head of what success for the community looks and feels like. You look forward to working with them, because you believe they perfectly represent what you envision in celebrating the diversity of the Portland comedy scene. Truth is, it wouldn’t be a true Portland festival without acknowledgment and celebration of our LGBTQIA spaces which have opened their doors to comedy and performance in the post pandemic era. That’s why I’m absolutely pumped to announce our first side stage for Rip City Comedy Fest ’23: Crush Bar PDX.

Voted Willamette Week’s Best Bar in Portland (2017,2019) and Best LGBTQ Bar (2015-2019) Crush Bar continues to provide an all-inclusive/all are welcome venue for performances of all kinds. From Delaney Malone’s “ROYGBIV” queer comedy show and Y2Gay dance parties to drag performances featuring Kharisma and Poly Pop Tart’s “Milk and Honey Drag Comedy show” - Crush Bar has become a premier destination for the celebration of the creative spaces which make the Portland scene so diverse and unique.

Though the schedule for Rip City Festival 2023 is still being expanded, guests and performers alike can look forward to some of the best LGBTQIA comedy and performance Portland has to offer including special editions of Drag Comedy and ROYGBIV, as well as a Saturday morning drag brunch.

In the months leading up to the festival, be sure to check out Crush Bar’s amazing lineup and support them on socials. To the Crush staff, performers, and community - Welcome to Rip City, Crush Bar PDX – let’s get ready to party!

2023 Performer Application

2023 Festival Venue List